African dance class part of movement to share cultures

AGNES DIGGS - Staff Writer

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The first Africans to put foot on the soil destined to become
America brought nothing with them except memories and a bone-deep
connection to the music of their ancestors -- the songs, the
rhythms driven by the drums so like the beat of the human
heart.

The memories passed through the generations, melding the culture
of the ancient land with the new ways of a hostile world.

But the lines of difference blurred; the dance and the drum
formed common ground among diverse peoples. Fostering that
intercultural communication is a goal of dance teacher Nikola Clay
of Encinitas, whose students have multi-ethnic roots.

She recently offered a class in West African dance at the
Encinitas YMCA, taught by Aboubarcar "Oscar" Camara, ballet master,
choreographer and consultant on West African culture.

One student, La-Verne Benjamin, 30, is new to the area and said
she was happy to find the class available. The Vista resident moved
to the States in 1995, served in the U.S. Army and recently
relocated here from Oklahoma. A native of St. Kitts in the
Caribbean, she said she has always wanted to learn African dance
but time didn't permit it. She enjoyed the class, she said, and the
drumming was awesome.

"I was the only black person there," she said. "And my friend
that I took was from Vietnam. My friend said when we were leaving,
'That's the most culture I've had in my life.' "

Benjamin said she took a similar class in Oklahoma, but all the
people who attended were black. Clay's class had a more eclectic
mix and real drummers rather than a tape.

"From a cultural perspective, I thought it was interesting the
drummers were all white," she said. "I thought that was pretty
cool. The teacher was actually from Africa."

History says the first Africans landed at Jamestown in 1619, ayear before the Mayflower. The slave trade brought 20 million moreto American shores. One account says they were allowed to leave theloathsome confines of the slave ship's hold to "dance" on the deck-- a form of torture that kept them as physically fit as possible,increasing their value on the auction block.

Instructor Camara is a native of Guinea West Africa who speaks
four languages, including English. In his country, the African
Ballet of the Republic of Guinea in West Africa is officially the
country's first cultural treasure.

After graduating college, he performed on international stages,
occasionally serving as the troupe's choreographer. Venues where
he's danced include the Kennedy Performing Arts Center in
Washington, D.C., the Apollo Theatre in New York City, and the
Bolshoi Ballet Theater in Moscow.

A Long Beach resident, he is part of Africa Bote, a National
Heritage Foundation founded to teach and perform the ancient
culture of West African music and dance. He conducts dance and drum
classes in Los Angeles and other cities. His skills include mastery
of the family of drums, dancing, acting and the storytelling
tradition of the Griot. Clay invited him to lead the class.

"If there's an African (teacher) within a 100-mile radius, I'll
bring them down and have them teach the class," Clay said. "So we
bring some culture down here to North County."

The class began with Clay taking the students through a
strenuous warm-up. Then Camara instructed them in the movements. He
gave the students some background of the dances he's teaching,
explaining which one is like washing clothes or getting the ground
ready for planting.

Camara tells them not to get discouraged if they're coming to
class for the first time, because it's not easy. And he tells them
to listen to the drums to get the beat going in their bodies.

Clay began learning African dance in San Diego, she said. She
had tried ballet and Jazz, but got hooked on this form when she
went to a class with a friend. The drums were already playing, she
said. "and I thought, 'Wow, we're going to have live music,' " she
said. "It was a big difference going to a class that had live
music. It was as if the drums were dancing you. It was
effortless."

There are a lot of benefits to dance in general, but African
dancing is high-energy, she said. "I can't go to a gym and lift
weight or do aerobics. My exercise has to be fun, and African dance
is definitely fun. You sweat, and most people walk out feeling
better than when they walked in."

Clay has studied the art form on an international level, taking
classes with dance masters from Africa to Sweden. She is very
enthusiastic about sharing the culture she has learned, and does
enrichment programs in schools and other venues.

"Some of the kids have never seen an African before," she said.
"Exposing kids to culture makes them more open-minded. When they
come across people of different cultures at a young age, they will
have some point of reference."

But intercultural communication is equally valued by the adults
like La-Verne Benjamin who take the classes. Although Benjamin
hails from the Caribbean, Africa is her cultural background, she
said. Benjamin said she was impressed that other cultures showed an
interest, too.

"The way we dance in the Caribbean is obviously from an African
background, so it brought back memories," she said. "We used to
just get together and dance. No teacher, just us dancing."

The class was a good workout, Benjamin said, like 2 1/2 hours of
nonstop movement. "We were blown after the warm-up," she said,
laughing. "It was well worth it. Definitely, I loved it
absolutely."

Benjamin said the fact that the class was offered was a good
thing, whether people are interested or not.

"I think it was a good intercultural experience for everybody
there. I think it was a community service. I loved it, and I plan
on attending more."